(Motorsport-Total.com) – There is noticeable optimism at the Haas Formula 1 team after the test days in Bahrain. While other teams are still struggling with teething problems, the US team’s program ran remarkably smoothly.
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When asked how satisfied he was with the progress so far and where the team stood with a view to Australia, Esteban Ocon replied confidently: “I think it was a very good test for us.”
The development since the first rollout was particularly impressive: “Since Barcelona, every time we’ve put the car on the track on a new day, we’ve improved things. We’ve found more performance.”
“Extremely productive days” in Bahrain
Especially the most recent days at the second Bahrain test brought a noticeable step forward. “I think these last two days were extremely productive. We understood the car much better and gained performance practically for free.”
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This “performance for free” in particular suggests that Haas has not just been trying out parts, but has built up a real understanding – a decisive factor in a season with new technical framework conditions. Ocon seems correspondingly aggressive: “I’m looking forward to finally racing.”
On the fifth day of testing, Ocon set the ninth fastest time. He was 1.398 seconds behind the best time set by Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes. As always, test times should be taken with a grain of salt – different programs, fuel loads and engine modes distort the picture.
But already in the first Bahrain test week, Haas occupied eighth and ninth places in the combined rankings with Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon. This meant that no midfield team was faster. But more important than the pure ranking for Haas is the stability: hardly any problems, plenty of track time, steady progress.
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